Back Ring - The portion of the eight-foot and twelve-foot rings behind the tee line.

Biter - A rock that barely touches the outer edge of the twelve-foot ring.

Blank End - A scoreless end with no rocks in the rings - See Dead End.

Blanking An End - Deliberately creating a blank end for the purposes of retaining the last rock advantage for the next end of play.

Bonspiel - A curling competition.

Board Weight - A stone thrown with sufficient momentum or force to reach the back boards of the curling sheet.

Bumper Weight - Sometimes referred to as board weight.

Burned Stone - A stone in motion that is touched by a member of either team, or any part or portion of their equipment. A burned stone is immediately removed from play by the party who burned it.

Button - The small circle in the center of the house.

Chip - To hit only a slight portion of a stone.

Chip-And-Roll - When a moving stone chips another stone and moves (rolls) to rest at a different position.

Counter - A rock in the house that is in a scoring position.

Curl - The line of travel the stone takes after delivery. A stone will seldom travel along the sheet in a straight line, unless it travels along a run or a fall. Generally stones curl more with less weight and less with more weight.

Dead End - A scoreless end with no rocks in the rings (Dead End may be a colloquialism) - See Blank End.

Dead Handle - A stone that loses its turn after delivery or, which is thrown without a turn - See No Handle.

Draw - The amount of ice that a stone curls when traveling down the sheet. A type of shot that requires draw weight.

Draw Weight - The weight required to deliver a stone so that it comes to rest in the house at the distant end.

End - The period of a curling game that is completed when each team has thrown eight stones. A complete game consists of a specific number of ends, usually eight, ten or twelve.

Fall - A section of the curling sheet that is sloped, which can cause a moving stone to curl in the opposite direction than intended. Guard - A stone that is placed in a position so that it can protect another stone from being hit.

Hack - The foot-hold from which the stone is delivered.

Hack Weight - The weight required to deliver a stone in order that it travels to the hack at the distant end.

Heavy - A stone delivered with more weight than required to successfully achieve the desired shot.

Heavy Ice - Ice that for one of many reasons requires more than the normal weight to slide the stone.

Hit Weight - Another term for take-out weight.

Hog Line - The wide black line 33 feet from the hack. A stone must completely cross the distant hog line to be in play.

Hogged Rock - A rock that fails to slide over the distant hog line after delivery and must be removed from play.

House - The four colored rings at each end of the sheet.

Ice - The distance between where a delivered rock must be aimed (the skip's broom at the distant end) and the intended target or it's final resting place, in order to successfully achieve the desired shot. The amount of curl for the type of shot determines the required amount of ice.

In-Turn - The rotation imparted on a stone during delivery that causes it to spin in a clockwise direction for a right hander, and a counter-clockwise direction for a left hander.

Keen Ice - Ice that for one of many reasons requires less than the normal weight to slide the stone.

Lead - The first player on a team to deliver stones during each and every end.

Light - A stone delivered with less weight than required to successfully achieve the desired shot.

Lost Turn - A stone that has no turn on the handle and does not curl. - See No Handle and Dead Handle.

Narrow - Delivering a stone to the inside of the skip's broom. (also refer to Off The Broom).

No Handle - A stone that loses its turn after delivery or, which is thrown without a turn - See Dead Handle.

Off The Broom - A stone delivered narrow or wide of the skip's broom. The skip's broom is the point of aim during delivery.

Outside - Another term for wide.

Out-Turn - The rotation imparted on a stone during delivery that causes it to spin in a counter-clockwise direction for a right hander, and a clockwise direction for a left hander.

Pebble - A fine spray of water droplets applied to the sheet before the start of each game. Curling stones slide along the frozen pebble, not on smooth ice.

Peel Weight - A stone delivered with heavy take-out weight.

Port - An opening between two stones that is wide enough for another stone to pass through.

Raise - When one stone is bumped ahead by another.

Rink - A team of four curlers. Also, the building in which the game is played.

Roll - The direction a moving stone takes after it hits another stationary stone.

Rub - When a moving stone barely touches another stationary stone. (Less contact than a chip)

Run - A section of the curling sheet that is dipped or troughed that can prevent a stone to curl or draw down its normal path of travel.

Second - The second player on a team to deliver stones during each and every end. The second follows the lead.

Sheet - The strip of ice upon which the game is being played. A curling club will have several sheets of ice to play on.

Shot Rock - The stone closest to the button at any time during an end.

Skip - The fourth player on a team to deliver a stone during each and every end. The skip usually directs the strategy during the game.

Swingy Ice - Ice that for one of many reasons has a more than normal draw.

Take-out - To completely remove another stone from play by hitting it with another.

Take-out Weight - The weight required when delivering a stone in order to make a take-out.

Tee-Line - The line that passes through the button of the house across the width of the sheet.

Third - The third player on a team to deliver stones during each and every end. The third follows the second. Sometimes called Vice, Vice-skip, Mate. - see Vice.

Tight - Another term for narrow.

Turn - The direction of rotation imparted on a stone during delivery that determines the curl of the stone. The two turns used in curling are the in-turn and out-turn.

Vice, Vice-Skip - The third player on a team to deliver stones during each and every end. The third follows the second. Sometimes called Third or Mate - see Third

Weight - The force or momentum transferred to a curling stone during delivery.

Wick - Another term for chip.

Wide - Delivering a stone to the outside of the skip's broom. (also refer to off the broom)

All About Curling

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Located in Falmouth Massachusetts, we are a not-for-profit 3 sheet club founded in 1969, dedicated to education and development of this honorable sport for all ages, from 6 upwards. We also serve our community through regular fund raising events.